The European Commission said on Feb. 22 it wants “full clarity” from the United States after a Supreme Court ruling invalidated U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs. It asked that Washington honor a trade deal reached last year.
The European Commission issued a statement on Feb. 22 urging the U.S. government to provide clarity on its next steps, saying the current situation is “not conducive to delivering fair, balanced, and mutually beneficial” transatlantic trade and investment as agreed to by both sides last year.
In return, the EU agreed to eliminate tariffs on all U.S. industrial goods and grant preferential market access to U.S. seafood and agricultural exports. It also agreed to increase purchases of military and defense equipment from the United States.
“In particular, EU products must continue to benefit from the most competitive treatment, with no increases in tariffs beyond the clear and all-inclusive ceiling previously agreed,” the European Commission said on Feb. 22.
The Commission said it has been in continuous contact with the Trump administration regarding the matter, adding that EU Trade Commissiner Maros Sefcovic had spoken with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Feb. 21.
“We will continue to work towards lowering tariffs, as provided for in the Joint Statement,” it said. “The EU’s priority is to preserve a stable, predictable transatlantic trading environment, while also acting as a global anchor for rules-based trade.”
“The deals were not premised on whether or not the emergency tariff litigation would rise or fall,” he said. “But rest assured, I’ve been speaking to these folks as well, and I’ve been telling them for a year, whether this case—whether we won or lost—we were going to have tariffs, the president’s policy was going to continue.
“That’s why they signed these deals even while the litigation was pending.”
He said his office will launch new investigations under Section 301 of the Trade Act, covering most major trading partners. The probe intends to counter “unjustifiable, unreasonable, discriminatory, and burdensome acts, policies, and practices.” Further tariffs may be applied if unfair practices are found, he said.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also cited Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act as an option the Trump administration is considering for its tariff policies following the Supreme Court ruling.
Jacob Burg contributed to this report.
